Skip to main content

tv   MONEY With Melissa Francis  FOX Business  December 4, 2012 5:00pm-6:00pm EST

5:00 pm
not standing next to david i was named one. top 10 women to watch by jewish women international. they held a gala. bret was there. kevin mcgee. bruce becker. david: who is he? liz: head of our network. corporate leaders from tupperware and my husband next to me. on the red-eye. david: congrats. liz: money with melissa is next. >> congratulations to liz. how exciting. i'm melissa francis and here's what's money tonight. finally the real cost of falling off the cliff, no games, no fuzzy math. the democrats and republicans have thrown their cards on the table. we are going to line them all up and crunch the numbers so you can really see what you think the best option is. it may surprise you. plus, day 7 of the strike shutting down the biggest ports in the country. think it doesn't affect you? all the holiday presents you
5:01 pm
ordered could be stuck out at sea, oh, no!. we'll explain it coming up. egyptian president morsi forced to plea his palace after tens of thousands of protesters battle police outside. morsi's days could be numbed per. we'll talk about the impact here at home. even when they say it's not it is always about money melissa: look at the day's market headlines, wait and see is the name of the game on wall street. they watched the latest sparring over the fiscal cliff. stocks weighed between positive and negative territory. shares of netflix soaring more than 14% you wow! the company announced exclusive dib shun deal with disney. they will get first run streaming rights for disney films beginning in 2016. gold prices losing their
5:02 pm
shine. the commodity tumbled below $1700 a ounce hitting a one-month low. >> to our top story, no bias or bull. "money" will lay it out for you. all the talk about we can't fall off the fiscal cliff, we say why not? it may not be the worse option? maybe it is. none of them stop the problem. we'll take a look. here to crunch the numbers, stephen hayes, fox news contributor and writer for "the weekly standard." thanks for coming on to brave the math. both sides get so emotional here. it is not about emotion, it is about the numbers and what will save this country. looking at the real numbers on the fiscal cliff. we projected it out over 10 years if we show you the big full screen we made and numbers look pretty scary from a tax perspective there. if we went over the fiscal cliff it would increase taxes 5.6 trillion. that is 10-year period. fairly say no one believes
5:03 pm
we would stay on the road for 10 years. i want to do it so you do side by side comparison. spending cuts 1.2 trillion. the president wants to raise taxes 1.6 trillion. cut spending by 600. the house plan looks like sort of a flip-flop of that. what do you think of all these numbers. what do you make of it? what is your first impression? >> i think the point that you made is almost in passing is very ey point. these are projections. the 10-year projections. when was last time in washington 10-year spending projections actually came in at or below what the projections were meant to be? it never happens. same is true on the revenue side with taxes. i think the numbers we're laying out here are probably the quote, unquote best-case scenario in terms of what could actually happen. just in terms of the pure math. not in terms whether or not it is good policy, just in terms of pure math. one reason going over the cliff looks more attractive in terms of bottom line numbers because there is that huge tax number. now, there are all sorts of reasons beyond that --.
5:04 pm
melissa: why is that, to raise that much revenue and give it to the government? i don't understand why that is appealing? >> it is not appealing to me. melissa: okay. >> it would be ap peeling from a math perspective because the number is bigger. but the problem is, the number won't be that big no matter what happens. you can talk about dynamic scoring. look at different ways revenue won't be revenue it is projected to be. you're talking about something that would do tremendous damage to the domestic economy. everybody agrees with this. president obama as president at least twice made the argument, raising taxes including raising taxes just on the wealthy would hurt the economy. he is doing something he previously said would hurt the economy. melissa: that is absolutely true but please,,guys, show me that full screen another time. on the spending side of the ledger none of those cuts are big enough to make any kind of a difference, whether we're talking about going over the cliff or
5:05 pm
talking about even the gop plan. if you keep in mind we're spending $4 billion a day that we currently have a debt of $16.3 trillion. depending on whose estimates you look at we'll have a deficit 1.1, 1.2 or $1.4 trillion a year. >> yes. melissa: none of those things curb the spending we're doing. >> no, right. melissa: that is what i thought was shocking and distressing about crunching these numbers. >> you're absolutely right. the most important way to look at iscal cliff debate, the math is fine to go through it but the most important question in my mind will there be serious structural entitlement reforms. melissa: right. >> the kinds of reforms that will yield savings well down the road, even beyond, 10, 15, 40 year windows we're talking about. what are the structural reforms that would produce those kinds of results. those are only things we should be clear. the only things that would actually make a difference. the kinds of spending you're
5:06 pm
seeing to a great extent on the fiscal cliff and president's plan and lesser extent to the republican plan, largely discretionary spending cuts. a lot coming out of defense. these are not long-term structural changes that will put us on a path to a balanced budget. that will not happen. melissa: the other thing that struck me about the graphic when you look at it, the threat from republicans hey, we would rather go over the cliff rather than take the president's deal, to me doesn't look terribly credible when you look at actual numbers. unless you take into perspective we're not really going over for 10 years. but it is just going over the cliff is so focused on raising taxes, on absolutely everybody and spending cuts are really not that impressive in terms of getting, you know, the gap down smaller. they say if you compare it to the white house plan they would rather go over the cliff. i'm not sure that is really credible given those numbers. what do you think?. >> way some republicans not all, growing number of republicans are looking at this, assigning blame to the
5:07 pm
president, making clear this is the president's plan and they don't have anything to do with it is politically more beneficial for them both in the short-term and the long term, rather than to go along with something on the tax side that's not, that is going to help blur the contrast between republicans and democrats. in the long term as we were saying isn't going to produce the kind of results on the spending side that will actually make much of a difference. melissa: okay. >> their view, let the president own it. we don't want to deal with this. melissa: steve, you get an "a" for math..3 thanks for coming on.% we appreciate it. >> first time in my entire life i got an a for math. melissa: we crunched cost for each plan. my next guest says there is in fact he says thet. republicans are waging a war on working people in america. sheila jackson-lee is democratic congresswoman from texas. she joins us in a fox business exclusive to tell us why. congresswoman, thanks so much for coming on the show. let me get your reaction to what you just heard? >> melissa?
5:08 pm
melissa: were you able to hear the discussion that came before you? we were talking about comparing all the plans side by side, whether it was going over the cliff or it was the republican plan or the white house's plan on what we should do to avoid going over the cliff. the main point we came to at the end, none of it really does anything to tackle the debt and deficit. what do you think about that? >> first of all, melissa, one thing i want to say to the american people we're all unified, and that is, completely different matter just to say syria will not get weapons of mass destruction and destroy not only their people but those around the surrounding areas. we're unified on that issue. i wanted to say that. i thank you for your courtesy allowing me to do so. melissa: we appreciate that. that is really important issue we're also focus on here. thank you for that. >> thank you. i serve on the homeland security committee. we have been in meetings all day. i was able to listen to some small measure of the discussion. let me say where we are today. no one disagrees there
5:09 pm
should not e a discussion on entitlements. what we're absolutely opposed to as democrats, ranging from conservative to moderates to progressives is preservation of medicare, social security and frankly medicaid. and that social security has nothing to do with the deficit. it is solvent and until 2037. medicare is solvent until 2024. you think where we're at, i know as i listen then the question would the republicans get anything, i don't even want to use the word conceding coming together on behalf of the american people where 62% believe on november 6th when the race was over the vote was really on whether or not should be a fair tax burden on those --. melissa: i'll give that to you. let's go ahead and raise taxes. say we do that. that doesn't get us close to solving the problem. i mean we still have $16.3 trillion in debt. we are still running $4 billion a day beyond what we're making.
5:10 pm
we this huge problem in this country. if it was a house you would throw uppyour arms in distress say, my god, we can never pay all these bills. that is sort of the point. >> i'm not in distress on that. first of all with the tax rrlief for 98% of the americans, we'll turn a reasoned amount of a trillion upwards back into the treasury. that is the first step. secondarily, a lot of economists will make it very clear that at a time of a recession of sorts, when we're trying to move out of nongrowth and move into more growth which is really the key element is no time to be use a machete on spending. what you need to do is be reasonable. there is $16 trillion i agree with you. remember we had $5.6 trillion surplus in 2001 from the clinton administration. here is reasonable proposal. melissa: you say we'll put a trillion dollars into the treasury over 10-year period? that doesn't even cover the increases in spending?
5:11 pm
>> but, we're not finished. first of all we've already seen as of august, july, a trillion dollars in spending cuts. but more importantly, we're at 50-year low in non-defense discretionary spending. the government is not spending. it is just we're a larger nation, one of the largest nations in the world. so we've got to get an understanding that america is a country that is not going to go back to the 1950s. we're always going to be searching and growing to make this country better and have a balanced economy. so what do we do? we start, melissa, because over the last decade previous to president obama, we have spent like, we are running water. two wars and bush tax cuts. melissa: we afree on that. >> bush tax cuts. melissa: we have spent way too much. this plan doesn't basically reform entitlement spending. we don't get our spending, with any of these three plans. even going over the cliff we
5:12 pm
don't get the spending in order. i will give you the last word. then we go on. >> the issue with the republicans they're losing this. they're losing the argument, the debate, they're losing everything. what we need to do is, to respond to the question, what do we do now in three weeks? let's go ahead and give 98% of the american people a tax cut. none of us are ignoring the viability and importance of looking at entitlement reform as it relates to savings, getting rid of waste fraud and abuse and other aspects. i will not tolerate increase in eligibility or raising the age but what republicans are doing is, they are putting the issue on taxes and they're not telling the american people that the enlightment reform and tax reform is an issue or issues that can be discussed in 2013 in deliberative manner listening to your constituents. that is the key. melissa: we're out of time. >> that's is the key. melissa: thank so much for coming on. i hope you talk to us about
5:13 pm
syria. that is important issue. >> i would be delighted. we'll get this resolved. we don't have to go over the cliff. melissa: next on "money", how a strike of the two biggest ports in the u.s. is directly affecting you and your wallet this holiday season. you want to hear this. violent protests reportedly lead to the egyptian president fleeing his palace. what it could mean here if his rule crumbles before your eyes. what it could mean coming up. ♪ .
5:14 pm
those little things still get you. for you, l'. but your ectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for ily use but your ectile dysfunction - helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be mo confident in youability to be ready. and the meialis is the only daily ed tablet apoved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, likeeedingo go frequently or urgently.at tell yr doct about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart isealthye. do not take cialis iyou takeni, as this may cause an unsafe drop in bloopressure. do ndo not drink alcoholtakeni, in excess with cialis. side eects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or mu ache. to avoid long-termnjury, seekmmediateedical help for an erection lasting mohan four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss hearing ovision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, if yoswelling of the lips,rease or lotongue or throat,on, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis andet medical helpight away.
5:15 pm
k your doctor about cialis for daily use and a abt free trial. testzv testq% and we n sa you 10%n ground shipping over the upstore. look this isn't my first christmas. these deals all seem great at the time... but lar... [ shirt ] merry christmas, everybody!
5:16 pm
not so much. ho ho ho! this isn't that kind of deal. [ male announcer ] break om the holiday stress. save on ground shipping at fedex office.
5:17 pm
test test ♪ . melissa: well you might not think the huge strike of the two biggest ports in the country directly impacts you but think about this. if you ordered anything lately, and we all have, christmas or hanukkah gifts you may not get them in time. more than a dozen ships loaded in cargo are sitting in docks in california and have been for the past week. both sides reportedly agreed to federal mediation in the strike but close to a billion dollars a day is still being lost. we have the president of the harbor trucking association and 32 of his 35 truck drivers are out of work as a result of the strike.
5:18 pm
he has aaso been unable to deliver goods to businesses in this area. fred, do you think the federal meddators will be able to resolve this strike? >> our fingers are crossed, melissa. this is important. we need to get this thing over quickly. melissa: fred, what has it meant to you personally? >> it is hard to account for what the cost of this is. it probably won't be accounted for until after the strike is over when all the ramifications have dom noted down buttit is always devastating to me personally. and it is worrisome for me about my employees and my drivers. melissa: we look at numbers that are involved here and everyone has their estimate and they're arguing over whose estimates are right but what we see is 1.2 million jobs are supported by the ports. 400 billion is in goods move through the ports in 2011. so when people say shutting them down is a billion dollars a day or more, that sounds like a very
5:19 pm
at the same time, it is about, about 800 members of a clerical union are working related to the port. it is that they make $87,000 a year. $41 an hour. when benefits are factored in they have annual compensation of $165,000 a year. they are the ones started this strike because they feel over time their jobs will disappear as their work is automated. the longshoremen joined forces with them in support of them. what do you think about the case that they're making? >> i'm not going to take a side in this negotiation. i have feelings for both sides. our goal is to get them together, work it out, and get us all back to work. melissa: what does it mean to businesses in the area when you aren't delivering goods on those trucks? for example, what would you have done in the past couple days that hasn't gotten done? >> there is hundreds of containers sitting at the harbor that we haven't delivered. i've got manufactured goods
5:20 pm
going to a warehouse that distributes them all over the united states. it is not getting their goods. their supply chain has dried up. you've got consumer goods that are certain to hit the shelves at christmas. where the clock is ticking on that. is it going to impact their sales? certainly it will. melissa: at the same time your drivers make about $200 a day. while they're not out there driving. are you still paying them? >> no. unfortunately i can't pay them. we have to lay them off on the days that they're not working. melissa: so do you have any idea what they're doing instead? have they found anything to do? or are the families out that counting on? >> sadly, they will come into the office and say, the first part of their shift and say, are they, are they back to work? can we go to work today? all we can do is shake our head. -pbut they're checking in every day with us. no, they don't have other work. no, their job is driving.
5:21 pm
melissa: what would you say to people on both sides right now if they were listening and watching the show? what would you tell them? >> i would urge them to sit at the table and be reasonable. be reasonable in your expectations. we're in a down economy. you've got thousands and thousands of people dependinggon you to work this out. let's get back to work, guys. let's make this economy grow. melissa: is there something else that could be done in the long run? people that are shipping through this port get burned is there another option? because some of them made the argument, 40% of the cargo in this country moves through this port. no matter what people shift through this lane giving the people that are on strike a whole lot of leverage? >> good point. we're always concerned by diversion to other ports. we're concerned about diversion to prince rupert where the u.s. gets no money out of movement of goods coming to the united states. but still the southern california area is suuh a
5:22 pm
large consuming area it will always have a decent percentage of cargo coming through here but the incremental cargo is significant. if you divert 10% of the cargo away from los angeles it would be significant in the loss of jobs in southern california alone. melissa: fred, thanks so much for coming on the show. we appreciate it and best of luck to you. i hope this gets resolved soon. >> thank you very much. melissa: so here's the question of the day. should the striking los angeles long beach port workers go back to work and save the holidays? we want to hear what you think? like us on facebook.co facebook.com/melissafrancisfox or follow me on twitter @melissaafrancis. coming up on "money", egypt's president reportedly runs from his palace as protesters rage outside. we have details coming up next. why doctors across the country are getting queasy over the fiscal cliff. you need to know how this affects your wallet. very interesting. do you ever have too much money?
5:23 pm
5:24 pm
you know how painfulheartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommded gavisco®. on gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps blo stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the paiquickly. try fast,g lastin gaviscon®. ♪ [ enge revs ] ♪ [ male announcer oh what fun iis to ride. get the mercedes-benz on your wish list at the winter event going on now throughecember 31st. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 e350 for $579 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.
5:25 pm
5:26 pm
5:27 pm
melissa: now onto the middle east. egyptian president morsi reportedly forced to flee his palace today after thousands of angry protesters rioted nearby. police fired tear gas on demonstrators. the situation is getting more and more heated. here to talk about impact of all of it, we have the vice president of foreign and defense policy studies wiih the american enterprise institute. welcome back to the show. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. melissa: let me get your reaction what is going on today. first in egypt. reports he left the palace. is that meaningful to you? >> i don't think so. you know, i think it is probably just discretion on his part. they're firing. there is a lot of violence there. people are climbing over the fences. i suspect rather than fleeing the palace as it has
5:28 pm
been made to sound in certain headlines he is just actually getting out of the way of this confrontation. melissa: it sounds pretty serious. one of the points you make from one perspective shows democracy is in action. before the protests began a lot of people made prediction we would see many protesters out there in support of morsi. to them and what else to go out and protest. seems like there are a lot more angry protesters out there than those in favor of president morsi. looks like he is losing at least some control. what happens, who is next in line if something happens? >> well, i don't think there is anybody next in line. part of the problem that we're seeing morsi over stretched his authority last week, immediately in the aftermath of negotiating a peace between hamas and israel, he, issued a decree giving himself almost
5:29 pm
absolute power saying his executive decrease were not, were not to be second-gueesed by the court. and that is really what brought people out into the streets. that and forcing a constitution through in 24 hours written solely by islamists. so we have a problem in egypt. melissa: absolutely. our interpretation of the arab spring no matter which country we're looking at, would you, the seeds of democracy are being spread in the middle east. we're seeing more intense islamic regime take over almost everywhere and more anti-west. what happens from here? >> i think really the biggest problem that we see in places like egypt and elsewhere where there have been pro-democracy revolutions is that the islamists think, oh, well, we had a secular dictatorship for the last 30, 40 years. now it is our turn to have a islamist dictatorship. the problem people out in the streets demanding thee3 ouster of leaders like
5:30 pm
mubarak aren't going to stand for it. the problem on the other side, they have no real way of expressing themselves. so every time there's a problem, they're all out in the streets. you can't run a democracy through mob rule no matter who is in charge. melissa: then you look at the situation in syria which is, you know, even more serious by a lot of regards. we hear there are now maybe, could see chemical weapons being deployed there. what do you think about that? how should the u.s. respond now and what does the next regime look like there? that is another place where it looks like it will be even more anti-west. >> i think you're absolutely right. the problem for us in syria is that we've been sitting on the sidelines twiddling our hands for so long that no matter who comes to power in syria, and we should have little doubt assad is on his way out. i think we're toward the endgame now. no matter who comes to power they are going to be so hostile to the united states because they were fighting for their freedom, fighting against guns, we were doing
5:31 pm
nothing. melissa: yeah. we did nothing to help those that bashar al-assad in there hurting and oppressing and killing. >> no. melissa: thank you so much for coming on. we appreciate it. >> it is always a pleasure. melissa: up next you think phe fiscal cliff is giving you a headache? we'll tell you why taking the plunge is giving a lot of doctors full-on ulcers. plus california's plan to be the green energy leader could take businesses an consumers out at the knees. a bipartisan report warns governor jerry brown to step in. the head of it is here to explain why. i feel like he is not going to. we'll see. "piles of money" coming up. jerry brown is not going to step in. ♪ . ♪ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., re estate in hong kong,
5:32 pm
and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason er 75% of our mutual funds eat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to ad and consider carefuy before investing.
5:33 pm
5:34 pm
5:35 pm
♪ . melissa: well it is definitely appropriate it say concerns over the fiscal cliff have hit a fever pitch but believe it or not doctors could be facing the worst of it. they could be hit by a 29% in medicare reimbursements on january 1st. that is only part of the problem. another part how this turns around and hits you and your wallet. joining me to dissect the impact is dr. marc siegel from the fox news medical a-team. great to have you back on the show. >> good to be back with you. melissa: let's get right to it. i love the numbers. let's break it down. doctors face a 27% cut in
5:36 pm
pay for medicare patients as part of the formula. >> that is called the sustained growth rate. some genius in 1997 when they put together the balance the budget act, hey, doctors should be penalized if the amount of tests order is greater than the growth of the economy. basically if an mri is very expensive, i have to order it, i get penalized forfeit it is more expensive than it should be. that doesn't make any sense. doctors are supposed to order test on patient need, medical necessity, what is the actual cost. we should consider that. patients should consider that. if we get penalized 27%, we can't accept medicare especially at time --. melissa: what is the practical implication? will the pprson who does the mri charge 20 7% less? >> absolutely not. this is time medicare will be more and more restricted. under obamacare there will be more regulations. only way i can work with
5:37 pm
medicare having freedom to order tests aged patient needs who might have medical problems. if you take away freedom and 20 he have 7%, -- 27%. even american medical association who backed obamacare, many doctors will walk away from medicare. >> will not accept patients. >> i will not work for medicare. i will take care of you but have to pay cash for this. medicare patients can't do that, see a doctor and pay cash if they have medicare unless they opt out. melissa: this is the first step down the road to create a two-tier system. if you have money you see a premium doctor you can pay. if you're on medicare you see someone else who will accept the doctors. >> that is the two-tiered system. it is already moving in that direction even before the fiscal cliff. even now because doctors are secretly getting cut, public is not aware of this. i have a cardiologist friend i have dinner with all the time. my cardiac echo are paying me $270 for it and used to
5:38 pm
pay me $580 two years ago. the guy trained tore ten years before he could do this test. cutting people in half for doing this kind of work with all of the training that went into it doesn't make financial sense. melissa: talk about more things on the list. the doctors face an additional 2% cut in pay for medicare patients ii we go over the cliff. what is that on top of the 27? >> the 27 is sustained growth rate formula. the 2% is part of the fiscal cliff, sequestration due to the fiscal cliff. melissa: at the same time these doctors at end of the day end up paying higher income tax after what they're making at work is cut. when they get home and the government comes back and takes a bigger bite. >> melissa, your viewers many already faced with this $250,000 or above tax that is going to occur if this isn't solved. i want to point out physicians this is gross figure, many physicians have a lot of expenses hidden in that. they're not making $250,000. the cost of machinery. cost of tests.
5:39 pm
cost of keeping offices open. every small business has the problem. doctors will get in the position to say wait a minute, i can't afford to take care of those patients. maybe they go to the hospital. melissa: on top of all that the doctors are affected by the health care act's restrictions. >> they will not be able to offer certain technological solutions because insurance won't pay for it. i want to order that test but insurance won't pay. i'm still liable even if i can't order it. obamacare is squeezing us already before this issue comes up. melissa: the bottom line, you see fewer and fewer people going into the field. when you see how hard it is to make money and make back what you spent on becoming a doctor. >> i want to end on a positive note. melissa: okay. >> i want to tell you people that love medicine do it no matter what. just like you love what i do. i love what i do. i keep doing it. i wouldn't count on the government counting on me doing it for free. we're getting there. melissa: a charity. coming up on "money", california's plan to be number one in green energy could end up squeezing
5:40 pm
serious dough out of businesses and consumers. we'll talk about maybe this is not such a bright idea. at the end of the day its all about money and dr. siegel. ♪ . want to try to crack it? ye, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... [ male announcer ] humana, wenderstand thealue of qualy time and personal attention.
5:41 pm
which is why we are proud to partner with health care professionals who undstand the difference that quality time th ourembers can make... that's a veryice cake! ohh! [ giggles ] [ male annnc ] humana thanks the ysicians, nurses, hospitals, pharacists and other health ofessionals who held us achieve the highestveragege star r ratg amongational medicare companies... and become the first and only nationaledicare advantage compan to achieve 5-star rating for a dicare plan... your efforts result in the quality of care and service we're able to provide... which means betterealth outcomes... and more quaualityime to share with the ones who matter most. i love you,randma! [ male announcer ] humana. ♪
5:42 pm
5:43 pm
5:44 pm
melissa: statewide green energy requirements could end up costing california a lot of green. a new nonpartisan report from the little hoover commission says the golden state is rushing into being the new green state way too quickly. costs from all these new policies could add up, slamming consumers and businesses. the commission's executive director joins me now with more. so basically you're asking the government to sit down and figure out how much this is going to cost people, is that what you're after? >> exactly. the commission started from the point of view that the starting point was, the ab-32, the greenhouse gas reduction emission reduction act plus the goal to achieve 33% renewables by 2020. the question that came to the commission was, did we have the organizational
5:45 pm
structure to achieve this? so the commission started to look into that. the commission came to the probably, we heard from witnesses said we could meet the renewables goal but the question came up of costs and reliability. and the commission found that we did not have an up-to-date assessment of how much all-in, all of our --. melissa: we're just flying ahead with this plan and we have absolutely no idea what it will cost the average person, is that what you're saying? >> we have estimates for part of it. because of our vulcanized governance structure here, we have the puc, we have the energy commission, we have independent system operators, we don't have a way to look at the whole thing all at one time. so we don't have a way to take in the totality of costs including transmission and --. melissa: your basic conclusion that it will cost a whole lot and people see the number they will be
5:46 pm
shocked and horrified, are you say that is what is going to happen. >> no. will cost. see how much it we don't know how much more. we think it is important to prepare rate-payers and businesses and the best way to do that is to have a sophisticated, thorough analysis of what everything all-in is going to cost. melissa: so you went to governor jerry brown and ssid, hey, listen you guys have to come up with an idea how much this will cost and disclose it to people and so they can make an educated decision whether or not this makes sense and what was the response? >> we haven't heard a response so far. they they have the report. they said they're giving it a read. all our recommendations are just that, they're recommendations. the governor is in the perfect position because he appoints people to all the different board and he has the greatest scope of control over this. melissa: i feel like there is almost no way he will come back and say, you know what? we'll sit down and crunch the numbers and do the math, right? do you have any hope he will come back and do that.
5:47 pm
>> oh, absolutely. this is question a lot of people are interested in. we certainly have the talent here. it is a question of putting together experts inside government and outside of government and having tte political will to come up with an estimate. you will not get a hard number. what you're going to get is analysis that has tradeoffs in it and, estimates and --. melissa: of course. there are no hard and fast numbers in government. we all realized that. if he doesn't come back and say yeah, we'll do it, what are you going to do and hough time are you going to give him? >> well, we, it is not, we're not in the ultimatum business. we're in the recommendation business. and we hope that, that others will also encourage him to do the same thing. what we're looking for is discussion so that we can sequence these things in order that achieves our goals at the least cost. melissa: okay. stuart, it's a good fight. let us know what we can do to help. if you get a response, please call us because we want to know.
5:48 pm
>> very good. thank you very much, melissa. melissa: time now for today's fuel gauge report. you feel like the governor is going to call right away, right? i do. no, i don't. oil broke a three-day winning streak. a choppy day of trading due to concerns over the fiscal cliff. crude pulled back from session lows. $88.50 a barrel. natural gas futures fell the fourth time in five sessions. forecasters say temperate weather is expected to continue for much of the country. whoo-hoo, lowering outlook% for natural gas demand. lower compensation for ceo rex tillerson. his salary will rise to $2.7 million with a 4 1/2 million dollar bonus. tillerson will take home 205 shares of restricted stock. manufacturers scoring deals in china. first solar will ship two -pmegawatts worth of its panels to china early 2013.
5:49 pm
sun power is buying a 25% stake for a solar panel and tracker venture in northern california. she is one of the most notorious mean people out there. so why not make "vogue" editor anna win tour a u.s. ambassador? it making perfect sense. well, apparently to president obama it does. we're going to explain coming up. you can never have too much money. ♪ . having you ship my gifts couldn't be easier.
5:50 pm
5:51 pm
well, having a tonf caons doesn't hurt. and a santa to boot! [ chuckles ] right, baby. oh, sir. that is a customer. oh...sorry about that. [ male announcer ] break fm the holiday stress. fedex office.
5:52 pm
5:53 pm
melissa: we are joined by author and radio talk show goddess market to buy monica crowley and republican strategist. thank you for joining yes. both of you. first up, i love this story. the ambassador wears product. president obama is considering nominating a very fashionable 84 ambassador in the u.k. or france. though the editor, in case you had not guessed, a spokeswoman says she is not interested in diplomacy. very happy with her current job. one thing that she is known for its use of the double wears product is diplomacy.
5:54 pm
and obviously very diplomatic. >> i don't think so. this is the way politics is done if you are a big donor or bumbler for a successful presidential candidates, you usually get rewarded with these kinds of jobs. you are correct to point out that this woman is known for her frosted demeanor. i think the war special relationship between the u.s. and great britain might go down the tubes. >> ambassadors have to be nice. and that is a prerequisite. again, this is a woman. absolutely right. she raised $7 million for the obama campaign which certainly gets you consideration, but a woman his magaziie featured one of the most worst villains in the world at present in her magazine. diplomacy and bogor don't go hand in hand. melissa: and if there's anything we have learned it is so important our diplomats are. this is an important choice. this is not like a tree to be given away. and now it has in the past.
5:55 pm
everyone is making the point when george w. bush did this. it is not okay for anyone. >> in the past for previous presidents, and did you all did this. go to big donors, but the good people who have some diplomatic experience or business experience to know how to operate in the world. melissa: or who are friendly. i don't know. >> president obama has done the slightly more than others. forty of his 59 ambassadorial appointments have been to top donors. that has to get arraigned in. melissa: and may have to stumble on. i know. i was trying to make a joke. more politics. this time the future mayor of new york has been encouraging hillary clinton to run for his office in 2011. the mayor thinks the big gamble with think she is a perfect fit. clinton said she is not
5:56 pm
interested in the job. first of all, is it a step up? endo mayor of new york is a big deal. >> they do say the standard line is that the second most important difficult job in the country is the mayor f new york city. that may or may not be true. hillary clinton would consider this. step down. >> is too mall a stage for her. she's been on the global stage. >> only one person will convince hillary clinton to go back into the public world. that is her husband, bill clinton. and i am on the side that says i don't even think she wants to do much cells after secretary of state. she has been around for awhile, taken a lot of heat. i thiik that she probably might want to just enjoy her life. >> for four years and then run. >> i took the 42nd street exit ramp and there was a huge pot hole. the first name that came to mind was not made clinton should fix this. of the shoe want to deal with
5:57 pm
all the municipal issues. melissa: moving on to something that i would love to happen. in eighth grade girls petitioning has brought to market easy bake ovens for boys. her petition has more than 24,000 signatures. she says her four year-old brother likes to cook. all the kids do. a packaging and promotions make it seem like cooking is only for girls. she wants her brother to know that is not wrong for him to want to be a chef. they're missing out.ainer. >> it's a great idea. absolutely. that's all i love habakkuk. that's why i'm happily married. but the reality is, gordon ramsey, the cake boss. so many of the stars who are chefs are men. there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. >> the era of the celebrity chef. u-turn on the cooking channel or the food now work. mostly all men. they have become huge superstars
5:58 pm
i was surprised it took this long for somebody to say, hey, this is targeted to only girls. that is kind of sexist. >> i can't believe there that far behind. two small boys. everybody has a kitchen at home. it's of fixing things to doing things, working together. i don't even know if they think they're cooking. the bash around, but they all do it. redd evans, white evans. get around the hoping thing. >> and adjusted it would like us. formerly all about boys. now they just voted to market to girls. >> that's right. >> something strange going on in my house. melissa: moving on to another petition but it has to do with focusing america's defense resources. there is a current petition for the u.s. to build a space superiority platform and weapon system like the death star by 2016. there are more than 1,000 signatures so far, and those are in support. the government should spur job creation.
5:59 pm
it feels like construction and engineering. that's exactly what america needs. >> a total of some legacy project. listen. shovel-ready jobs. extremely happy. we know that. he can work with newt gingrich who wants a lunar colony. a good bipartisan project for the two of them. >> is that a hostile name? >> i like it. >> and because we're talking about defense it woold have a huge deterrent effect to all of our enemies. if it did have to go up against the death star. >> i love it. >> of the death panel start. melissa: here is a fun one. the show's seinfeld is the funniest said, all time. 22 percent of those polled said the show was about nothing. it was the funniest show of all time. >> looking at the top five or ten biggest or greatest comedies, what shocked me is that i love lucy is not even in the top

188 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on